Washing machine construction



June 8, 1937. .1.- c. NELSON WASHING MACHINE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 21,1935 WITNESS ATT URNEY fwym.

Patented June 8, 1937' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Easy Washing MachineCorporation,

Syracuse, N. Y. a corporation of Delaware Application May 21,

I 1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in theconstruction of washing,

machines, and relates more particularly to the construction of thewashing vat and cover 5 therefor.

Heretofore, the common commercial practise in the manufacture of themore expensive types of domestic washing machines has been to fit theupper edge of the side walls of the tub, which contains the clothes andwashing fluid, with an annular casting, usually a die casting. In orderto avoid the metal to metal contact of the die casting with the upperedge of the side walls of the tub, which is very likely to chip theporcelain with which the side walls of the tub are coated, it is usualto provide the rim of the tub with an annular rubber ring and mount thedie casting on the rubber ring. While this die casting perhaps servesthe purpose of strengthening the rim of the tub to a minor extent, itsprimary purpose is to cover up the tub rim and make the upper portion ofthe tub more attractive as the non-ferrous metal of the die casting isadapted to take a high polish. This construction has certain markeddisadvantages, the foremost of which 'is that the die casting and theassembly of it on the tub are very expensive and add. considerably to'the cost of the washing machine. In practice, this casting is shaped sothat a portion thereof extends internally of the rim of the tub with,the

upper surface thereof sloping inwardly and slightly downwardly so as tocause fluid to drain into the tub. The cover for the tub is usually madewith a rubber annular ring at its outer edge which fits inside of thecasting and serves to deaden noise when the cover is placed upon thetub.

A machine embodying the construction described above is shown in NelsonDesign Patent No. 85,259 issued September 29, 1931.

In commercial domestic washing machines of the less expensive type, thedie casting, because of the expense involved, is eliminated and the rimof the tub is simply rolled outwardly, or more rarely inwardly, to forma bead extending cir-- cumferentially of the top of the washer tub. Thecover used with this type of construction, also usually has a rubberring fitted to the outer circumferential edge thereof which engages thetub on the inside of the rolled upper edge. A construction similar tothat just described is shown in Geldhof Patent No. 1,937,884, issuedDecember 5th, 1933. This construction while much less expensive tomanufacture than that employing a die casting is objectionable from anappearance 1935, Serial No. 22,580

standpoint. Further, when the machine is in use the porcelain at the rimof the tub is very apt to become chipped and unsightly due to objectsstriking the rim.

The primary purpose of my invention is to provide a washing machineconstruction which is at least as economical to manufacture as thesecond construction described and at the same time is attractive inappearance, which appearance is as enduring under service conditions asa washing machine employing a die casting mounted on.

the rim of the tub.

Another object of my invention is to provide a washer tub in which theupper edge of the side walls of the tub and the cover are shaped so thatany water splashed up on the side walls of the tub by the washing deviceoperating in the tub, or any moisture collecting on the cover, will dripback into the tub rather than leak out between the tub rim and thecover.

My invention further contemplates a washing machine construction whichis economical to manufacture and in which the sound deadening meansbetween the cover and the tub rim is mounted on the rim instead of onthe cover and the cover is shaped so as to prevent leakage of .fiuidbetween the cover and the tub and shaped so as to completely hide therim of the tub when the cover is in position.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be more apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a complete washing machineembodying my novel washing machine construction.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the cover.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing a portion of the tub andcover and taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a'modified form of the construction shown in Figure 3.

While my invention is equally well adapted for use with washing machinesemploying a square, or any other shape of tub, for convenience I haveshown it as applied to a conventional circular washer tub. The washertub H is mounted on and secured in any suitable manner to a base l2. Thebase is preferably a stamping and has a depending skirt l3 forconcealing the mechanism for operating the agitator or other washingdevice mounted in the tub. A plurality of legs Mare riveted or otherwisesecured to the skirt, each of the legs being provided with a caster I6.

The side walls of the tub I I extend substantially vertically and nearthe upper edge, as indicated at H, the side walls are bent or rolledinwardly which serves to strengthen the rim of the tub. The extremity l8of the rim of the tub is preferably re-bent and has a ring l9 mountedthereon which may be made of rubber or any other suitable noisedeadening material. The ring l9 may be fitted to the rim of the tub bycutting a groove in the rubber of the ring which may then be stretchedover the re-bent portion l8 of the rim and secured in place in anysuitable manner. The rubber ring l9 serves not only to deaden noisewhenthe cover is placed or dropped in position on the top of the tub butserves also to protect the rim from becoming deformed in use andprevents chipping of the porcelain at that point. A- further advantageof placing the rubber ring on the tub instead of on the cover, as in thedevices of the prior art, is that it enables the housewife to rest pailsor basins containing water or clothes on the rim without marring the rimor the likelihood of the pail or basin slipping on the rim whileemptying the contents thereof.

A cover 22 is' adapted to rest on the rubber ring l9 and close theopening at the top of the tub. The cover 22 has a skirted portion ordepending rim 33 which is adapted to extend downwardly on the outside ofthe side walls of the tub when the cover is'in position. Any suitablemeans may be providedfor handling the cover but preferably the center ofthe cover is countersunk so that the top of a hand grip 23 mounted inthe countersunk portion of the cover is approximately fiush with the topof the cover. A screw 26, with which a lock washer 21 is used, extendsupwardly through the bottom of the cover and is received in a threadedaperture 28 formed in the hand grip 23. A series of annular ribs areprovided which encircle the countersunk portion 24 of the cover andserve to stiffen the cover and decrease the liability ofthe coverbecoming deformed in use.

When steaming hot water is placed in the tub, the steam tends to collecton the bottom surface of the cover. At times also water is splashed uponthe bottom of the cover by the clothes washing device. To prevent thiswater, or the steam when it condenses, from seeping between the bottomof the cover and the rubber ring I9, I provide the cover 22 with a heador drip-ring 3|. The drip-ring 3| is formed internally of the portion 32of the cover, which strikes the top of the rubber ring l9, and liesbelow that point, so that any water or steam which may collect on thelower side of the cover will gradually collect on the bead and drip downinto the tub. The inwardly turned portion ll of the side walls of thetub also decreases the possibility of leakage of fluid between the coverand the tub rim. From.

the point 32 the cover is bent downwardly to form the skirt or dependingrim 33. The depending rim 33 extends downwardly on the outside of theinwardly turned side walls I! of the tub and completely hides the rubberring l9 from view.

tor to place the cover on the top of the tub with- V out the necessityof accurately fitting the cover to the tub.

In Figure 4 I have shown a modified form of the construction illustratedin Figure 3 in which the upper edge of the side walls of the tub is bentsharply inwardly at 36 and then extends upwardly vertically at 31. Uponthe upper edge of the tub side walls a U-shaped rubber ring 38 similarto the ring I9 is fitted. The cover used in this construction isessentially the same as that described in connection with Figure 3except that the proportions of the partsare such that the drip-ring 3|is spaced slightly from the rubber ring 38.

While the washing machine construction shown and described is veryeconomical to manufacture it presents an attractive appearance, preventsleakage of fluid outside of the tub in an effective manner and the coverthereof may be fitted down over the tub noiselessly and with littleeflfort. It will be apparent that various changes and modifications maybe made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing fromthe spirit of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a washing machine construction, a washer tub having substantiallyvertical sheet metal side walls defining the tub proper, the upper edgeof said side walls being turned sharply inward to define acircumferential opening at the top of the tub appreciably smaller thanthe diameter of the tub proper, and a coverfor the tub having adepending rim, said depending rim at a circumference above its loweredge being somewhat arcuate in cross section and at its lower edge beingapproximately the same diameter asthe diameter of the tub proper wherebythe side walls of the tub proper and the depending rim of the cover givea substantially continuous appearance when the cover is in position onthe tub, the relative difference in diameter of the lower edge of thedepending rim of the cover and the circumferential upper edge of the tuband the cross sectional curvature of the depending rim of the coverenabling the cover to be somewhat inaccurately placed upon the tub andbe seated in its proper position by the cam action of the inside of thecover against the circumferential upper edge of the tub andsound-deadening means between the meeting surfaces of said tub andcover.

JABEZ CURRY NELSON.

